


Gift Exchange

by Neverever



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-04
Updated: 2015-01-04
Packaged: 2018-03-05 09:37:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3115244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neverever/pseuds/Neverever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve gets Tony to agree to exchange homemade gifts for Christmas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gift Exchange

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kadabrafreak890](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kadabrafreak890/gifts).



> A Cap-Ironman Holiday Exchange gift for kadabrafreak 890, who asked for a story about Tony and Steve exchanging homemade gifts. Hope you like it!
> 
> Thanks to my beta.

What can you buy the man who already has everything and can afford to get what he doesn’t already have? Steve mused as he navigated through yet another shopping site. He turned off his tablet and sighed. Despite knowing Tony as well he did after years of dating and marriage, it was getting harder and harder every year to buy him something. And Steve was not going to settle for gift cards to Home Depot and hardware supply vendors.

Steve did not consider himself a romantic guy. Not like Tony, whose personal motto seemed to be go big or go home. That’s why in their first year of dating, after Steve turned himself inside out to find the perfect present, he ended up giving Tony a new power tool while Tony gave Steve a trip to Italy to see art museums. Later in their relationship, Tony eventually branched out to a new motorcycle and a Ferrari and an entire art supply store. Steve did put the five hundred Cap teddy bears to good use at a local children’s hospital.

The best present (and the only surprise present) he ever gave Tony was the engagement ring three years before. That was the easiest present. Since then, it had gotten even harder.

Putting the tablet down, Steve turned on the television in hopes of finding something to watch. Lost in thought, he didn’t notice Tony arriving from the workshop.

Kissing Steve on the top of his head, Tony asked, “What do you want to order for take-out tonight? I was thinking Thai from that new place around the corner.”

“That sounds good.”

“Good? Sounds like you rather eat dirt.”

“No,” Steve replied, shaking his head. “I wasn’t paying attention. Distracted.”

“We could go out if you want,” Tony offered. “I need to change clothes. And a shower. Long hot shower.”

“We could eat in. I’m not picky.” Before Tony left to place the order, Steve caught his wrist. “Um, Tony, I was thinking about Christmas.”

“Great! Because it’s not too late to make plans to go somewhere other than Avengers Tower.” Tony had been pestering Steve to take a vacation around New Year’s Eve.

“No, not that. But about the gifts this year – how about we exchange homemade gifts? Nothing fancy, something from the heart.”

Tony sunk into the seat at the other end of the couch. “Steve, if you want a robot assistant, I’d be glad to make you one any day. All you have to do is ask.”

“No robots.”

“If I can’t make you a robot, then you can’t give me a drawing or painting or whatever medium you’re working with these days.”

Steve smiled brightly. “It’s a deal.”

~~~~~

Tony loved his husband. Deeply, truly, and the sun rose and set on everything that was Steve Rogers. He couldn’t deny Steve anything that he wanted or asked for. But he had no idea at all what to make him for Christmas.

Unlike nearly all the people in his life (Rhodey couldn’t stop laughing for some reason), Pepper at least showed some touch of concern when Tony called her for ideas. Tony was realistic enough to know she was worried that Tony was going to blow something up or do something destructive. 

“How much time do you have?” Pepper asked. 

“Right now it’s mid-November. I’ve got seven weeks to make a gift.”

“Draw Steve something. He’d like that,” she suggested.

“I draw stick figures. We’re beyond the point in our relationship where giving Steve a stick figure drawing or mural would be considered charming.” 

“Cook him a meal.”

“Great, let’s all relive my omelet-making days.”

He could almost hear Pepper shudder on the other end of the phone. “Let’s not,” she said decisively. “Pottery?”

“I never even did that for my mother when I was a kid.”

“Christmas ornaments? Knit socks? Jewelry?”

“I don’t do arts and crafts. Not for Mr. Could-Have-Been-A-Professional-Artist-If-I-Didn’t-Go-To-War. You know, he’s been experimenting with drawing on tablets for the past six months.” He was deeply proud of Steve, who learned quickly and was always interested in discovering new things. 

“Is Steve serious about the ban on robotics?”

“Yes. He made me promise. And I can’t hire someone to make the gift for me. It’s like he actually knows me.”

Pepper snorted. “Okay, Tony, one of my assistants will be in touch with you about setting up a session with a personal pastry chef. She can help you bake something for Steve.”

~~~~~

Steve had a plan, as he always did. He figured he was pretty handy and could make something. Tony had only said “no art” – leaving it up to Steve’s conscience to fill in the details. Steve decided he couldn’t do a work on paper, a sculpture (even with found objects), or anything on his tablet. 

During a scouting mission in Tony’s workshop, Steve came up with the idea of building a bench for the workshop. Something small that Tony could use when he was working on the suit. Nothing fancy.

Sam’s uncle Elijah, in the Bronx, had a wood-working workshop in his basement and was willing to help Steve. Steve showed up on a bright and clear Saturday morning, one of his days off, with a brief plan for a bench for Tony. Sam tagged along for the fun of it.

Six hours later, Steve did not have his bench. As Elijah rightly pointed out, Steve should start simple if he hadn’t really built anything before. And Steve needed to figure what size the bench should be before buying the wood. So after an hour’s work on choosing wood and the size and learning about the tools, they packed it in and watched basketball all afternoon.

Next time Steve was supposed to go over to Sam’s uncle, there was an Avengers call. At the end of November, he met Sam’s uncle at a Home Depot to pick out the wood. Elijah approved the design after removing some of the fancier, more complex elements. The first store did not have the wood Steve wanted, so they had to go to another store to get the white oak Steve hoped for.

They rescheduled to the first weekend of December. Sam called Steve to say that Elijah had been called into work for an emergency. Then Steve couldn’t meet up for a few more days because of Avengers business.

Finally, Sam pointed out that it was December eighth. “Man, do you really have the time to work on the bench in the next two weeks?” he asked.

“Not sure. My schedule is filling up with parties and other business,” Steve admitted. Working with Elijah was bringing out the perfectionist in him. This project was rapidly turning into him making the best bench ever. He couldn’t do that in the three remaining weeks before Christmas.

“Why don’t you do one of those coupon books? You know, cash a coupon in for some favor, like dinner in or going to Tony’s favorite movie. Homemade and from the heart,” Sam suggested.

Steve smiled. “Yeah, I could do that.”

“You could make the coupons innocent, like I’ll take out the trash or change the sheets. Or dirtier. Whatever you think Tony would like.”

“Thanks, Sam.” Steve could do that. 

~~~~~

An up-and-coming pastry chef showed up on Tony’s doorstep after Thanksgiving to give Tony a crash course in making cookies. Rena was a lovely, encouraging person who wasn’t fazed in the least with teaching the famous Tony Stark how to mix dough.

Facing the kitchen island covered in ingredients, bowls and baking tools, Tony took a deep breath. He could do this. He built a superhero suit out of scraps in a cave, for crying out loud. Flour, butter, eggs, and spices weren’t that intimidating. 

He could do precision, since he was an engineer. But each time they mixed up a batch, the actual baking process failed every time. The cookies came out burnt, the cake a brick, the pie a mush. The one batch of cookies that managed to survive the oven was inedible because Tony apparently used the wrong ingredients. Who knew that the difference between baking soda and baking powder was so important?

Rena was the most patient person Tony had ever met besides Steve. But at the end of the afternoon, she gently patted Tony on the shoulder. “Not everyone is cut out to be a baker.”

Tony didn’t like to admit defeat. He was a fighter to the end. But even he had to throw in the towel when the last batch of cookies caught fire in the oven. He probably should have paid attention when he put the cookie sheet in the oven instead of forgetting about the cookies and ignoring the timer. 

Pepper’s assistant found a paint-your-own-pottery place. Perfect for Tony – all he had to do was apply paint to a pre-made clay object. The store would take care of the finishing and firing work.

So a Wednesday afternoon after the baking disaster, Tony was painting a pencil holder for Steve. Something simple. Except that he kept trying to use one of the special paint techniques because Steve deserved only the best. The paint sloughed right off the greenware cup. He tried another cup. Money was no object in getting the best homemade gift for Steve. He dropped his latest masterpiece and chipped the edge. He painted yet another cup and it ended up a special color of gray.

The paint-your-own-pottery people were understanding and patient, though not as patient as Rena. They dealt with children who were making gifts for their parents, and they were kind to Tony, who was trying to paint his cup in fire-engine red and bright gold stripes. Ten destroyed cups and a trail of paint disasters later, Tony had to call it a day. He informed Pepper that pottery was off the table.

“I’ll think of something else, Tony,” she promised.

“Or I’m back to the stick figure drawing,” Tony said.

~~~~~

Early in their relationship, Tony and Steve established a date night. They were busy people with being superheroes, Tony running his business and Steve managing the Avengers. 

Before date night, they always started off being ambitious with plans to go to an independent movie theatre and dinner or take in a show or tour a gallery. More often, their plans turned into watching a movie on the giant television in their penthouse apartment, take-out from one of their favorite places, with phones turned off. 

Tony was snuggling into Steve’s side during whatever movie they had picked out. Or more accurately, whatever movie Steve had picked out while Tony met the delivery guy. Tired from fighting malware some supervillain tried to plant in the suit all day, Tony yawned. “So how’s it going?”

Steve rubbed the back of Tony’s neck, tangling his fingers in his thick brown hair. “Hmm, not sure what you mean.”

“You know, the Christmas present. You’re going to be stunned at my ingenuity.” Stunned if he produced anything for Steve. The knitting lesson hadn’t gone well after Tony got into an argument with the teacher. He didn’t remember the details but that was probably for the best.

Steve snorted. He shifted so that he could pull Tony closer to him. “You’ll be amazed at what I’ve made you.”

“You’re done already?”

“Maybe. It’s a surprise, Tony.”

“Oh, please. You’re not good at all at hiding surprises.”

“I can too – remember when I surprised you with the ring?”

“You weren’t that secretive about it,” Tony pointed out. “Everyone knew what you were planning.”

“They don’t know about my Christmas present for you.”

“I can bribe Sam. He can have the best wings I can design if he coughs up what you’re making for me.”

Steve squeezed Tony. “You’ll never guess.”

The movie was completely forgotten. Tony looked up at Steve. “I’ve made something so amazing you’ll never guess my gift either.”

“I’ll love and treasure that stick figure drawing you’ve done.”

“Steve, you wound me. I have hidden talents you’ve never suspected.”

“So you colored the stick figure drawing?”

“Keep it up, Rogers. All I can say, prepare to be amazed when you open the gift.”

~~~~~

Steve was stuck. He was developing a list for the coupon book. Sam had recommended at least twenty coupons for Steve’s gift coupon book, starting with simple and easy tasks and favors at the beginning of the book in multiples and the hardest favor/task at the back. 

“You did this for your mother for Mother’s Day, right?” Sam said. “That’s what my cousins and I did. My mom never cashed in the breakfast-in-bed coupon. I think the idea scared her.”

“Nope. Not something we did back in the 20s, I’m afraid,” Steve replied.

He wished he had gone with the embroidered handkerchiefs idea. He had learned how to stitch simple letters from his mom to mark his clothes. But no one seemed to use handkerchiefs these days, much less Tony. Tony had silk pocket squares for his suits, too fine for Steve.

Coupon book it was.

~~~~~

Tony and Pepper mutually agreed that candle and soap making was off the table. Pepper had another list of possible gifts, but Tony pointed out that he had a week and a half to go before Christmas and he needed something. Odds were good that he could be called out on Avengers business and he would have no present for Steve.

He’d violate his promise to Steve on the handmade gifts before not getting him a present. His husband would not go without a present for Christmas, even if that meant Tony had to buy him the best and priciest motorcycle on the market. He could have it at the Tower by tomorrow afternoon if he had to.

Pepper sighed. “I’m out of ideas, Tony. Wait. You could do a coupon book for Steve.”

“Like the ones we used to do for our moms on Mother’s Day?” 

“Yes! Except for Steve. All you have to do is come up with things you could do for Steve over the next year.”

“Brilliant, Pep, absolutely brilliant.”

Tony was back on track.

~~~~~

Late Christmas Eve, Steve sat down next to Tony on their couch in their living room. The Avengers’ holiday party had gone on for what seemed to be forever. At least this time time it wasn't broken up by Ultron or any other supervillain. Tony waved in the direction of a cheese and cracker plate and wine glasses on the ottoman in front of the couch.

"No, too full," Steve said. He handed over a small wrapped package to Tony.

"Wait, I have something for you too," Tony said, scrambling through the plates and glasses on the ottoman. He handed a similar package to Steve.

Before he opened Tony's gift, Steve weighed it in his hand, briefly worried that Tony had given him keys. But the gift felt too light for that. He opened the box and found a hand-lettered coupon book. He smiled as he flipped through the coupons.

Tony had already torn into the wrapping and was scrutinizing his coupon book. "So much for the handmade gift idea since we came up with the same gift."

"It's the thought that counts," Steve said. 

"Or the best gift ever," Tony exclaimed. He had found the coupons for getting out of a training session. His smile broadened as he read the last few coupons. "Good for one hand job. Ooh, I like the blow job one."

"I know what you like."

"You don't have to sound so smug about it. Hey, I'm going to hold onto this one -- one night of passion. And wait, this last one ... good for a session of tying you up with optional gag." Tony smiled wickedly, already planning how he was going to use the last coupons.

Steve looked through his booklet and saw the coupons for "good for one motorcycle repair without 'unnecessary per Steve' upgrades" and "good for three hours of silent Tony." He nudged Tony. "Do you think that you could actually do that?" he asked pointing to the coupon.

"Yeah, I'm good for it." Tony smiled at Steve. "Merry Christmas, Steve."

Steve kissed his husband. "And you, too, Tony."


End file.
